JECSE Education Delegates Meeting 2020.

We could not meet face to face in Lyon as intended, but nevertheless, in an atmosphere of friendship, education delegates in the JECSE network met online (November 18-20) for our annual gathering. Our main theme and focus for the three days of the virtual conference was on how to deepen awareness of our Jesuit mission – amidst all the challenges of our European context – by starting an in-depth reflective process as companions on the same journey.

Moving into depth together

Matthieu Daum, our facilitator, took us through such a ‘discerning process’ following the ‘Theory-U model’ for awareness-based change. Through deep listening and intentional speaking (an interior attitude close to our well-known Ignatian spiritual conversation) this U-model encourages a deep sensing together of the current context first. Resisting the temptation to immediately jump to solutions, it then invites us to explore what we’d need to let go of (in ourselves and in our current system) to open up – as a community – to what wants to be born anew. This requires opening the mind, heart and will (which means suspending initial judgment, cynicism and fear) to be receptive to how the spirit moves us.

A core mission of reconciliation

As for our mission in education, we feel the need to paint a more coherent horizon.

Over the past decade there have been a number of important new statements and a series of different events on the theme of Jesuit Education at the global level.

This has given rise to a renewed awareness of being part of a global Ignatian family, of different provinces sharing the same mission and pedagogical paradigm, albeit adapted to local needs and possibilities. Collaboration and networking have become the new way of proceeding. Educate Magis has enabled the emergence of an online community of schools in the Jesuit network by facilitating the sharing of stories and best practices, of new initiatives and inspirations.

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